Broken
by never-give-up-hope2
Summary: Sometimes it's easier to be broken, than it is to be whole.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone :D Sorry I've not been on in a while but I've had issues to deal with and your bad reviews aren't helping. I don't mind criticism to help me get better but when you say 'this is awful' doesn't help me become a better writer or make me feel very good so just stop doing it, please. Think about how you would feel. That's all. **

You don't get over things in a week, especially big things. She knew that. Yet there was some part of Ziva David that expected her to be working again and chatting with her co-workers as if Somalia never happened. But it had, and it had changed her.

Nothing had really changed. The walls were still insanely orange, the faces on the most wanted wall were still the same and so was the view from the very large window. The only thing that had changed was her team- her ex-team. Gibbs' hair had become white, worry lines had been added to the side of his eyes, as if drawn with a fine pencil. Tony had become quieter, his ever-present grin and cocky façade faded and McGee, well McGee had become withdrawn, scared to look at her. She couldn't blame him, she had turned into something unrecognisable, a monster.

She didn't have a home, it had been blown to smithereens. Vance had offered for her to stay at Navy base housing but she had refused. There was no place to go, nothing for her to do. But wait. Wait to see if it got any easier, if the scars would fade, if that one day she would wake up and Somalia would be a distant dream, a nightmare that you could easily wake up from.

The elevator doors dinged open and Gibbs stepped out. Immediately he was ambushed by Tony, who seemed to have been waiting there for him. Tony started to speak but Gibbs held up a hand to silence him and took a long drink of his coffee.

"Yes, DiNozzo?" He asked impatiently, one he had demolished half the cup.

"Boss, it's Ziva, what should we do?" He started, "We need to help her, I mean Mossad just … abandoned her."

"And you think I don't know that?" Gibbs said sharply. He would be lying if he said he hadn't thought of Ziva every minute. That he lay awake in bed at night trying to think of ways to help her, to mend the broken person she was now.

"Of course not boss, it's just… it's just hard to see her like this." It was more than hard, it hurt. Where was the ass-kicking Mossad officer, the tough-as-nails woman? Tony would give anything just to hear her speak again, even if it was an insult.

"Where is she?" asked Gibbs, taking another long swig of coffee, the burning pain in his throat distracting him from the pain in his heart.

"Same place she's been since she got out of hospital boss, Abby's ballistics lab." Tony replied, following Gibbs to his desk.

Their thoughts had been occupied with Ziva ever since they had rescued her. She refused to talk about what had happened to her, no matter how many times she was asked. She had discharged herself from hospital after they had set her broken ankle, wrist and had dealt with her injuries. Ziva had refused all psychiatric help and therapy. She pushed people away, afraid for them to get too close.

"Look, I would go talk to her but you know she won't speak to me, hell, she won't speak to anyone." Gibbs sighed, half out of annoyance and half out of fear. He dumped his cup in the trash and moved towards the elevator, a sure sign he was going to Abby's lab.

"I know boss." Tony said, Gibbs was already to far away to hear.

The music was a welcome distraction. Every time the memories came back, ever time they threatened to overpower her, Ziva would close her eyes and concentrate on the heavy metal music blasting out of Abby's speakers. It was not music she would personally listen to but that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact she couldn't here the voices, the voices that mocked her, even in her sleep.

"What have you got Abs?" Gibbs shouted over the din, "And turn off that racket!"

The music was turned down before he say Abby. She looked normal and when she said, "Sorry Gibbs." she sounded normal but there was something off about her. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder before pulling Gibbs to the side, "I think you're real question should be, 'how is she'? and the answer is awful. I mean terrible, like completely terribly awful-"

"Abs! I get that but what has she been doing here?" Gibbs said, more out of frustration than anger.

"Zilch, absolutely nothing."

"She must have done something." Gibbs sighed, feeling the itch for another caffeine boost.

"No, she hasn't. She has actually just sat there, next to the desk, huddled up in those blankets. She won't speak, won't even look at me. I have to bring her food and water because otherwise she wouldn't eat or drink. She won't leave at night and I don't think she actually moves. Oh my God Gibbs I am so worried about her." Abby flung herself at Gibbs, almost knocking him over.

"It'll be okay Abby. She's gonna get better. I promise." He just hoped he could fufill it.


	2. Chapter 2

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"Have you talked to her yet Tony?"

"No, McProbie, I haven't spoken to her yet."

"You need to, I think she's waiting for you to talk to her."

"Have _you _spoken to her yet?"

"No, but-"

"See, McGee, you can't tell me to do something if you have not done it."

"That's different though Tony. You're closer to her than I am. You were the one that mainly rescued her."

Tony leant close to McGee, "How is she doing Probie?"

McGee didn't want to tell him the truth, sure it would make him even more reluctant not to talk to her. "Terrible. She just sits in Abby's lab all day, huddled in blankets. Won't talk, won't move, nothing."

Tony heard his sharp intake of breath, this was not what he wanted to hear, "what else?"

McGee leaned in closer, "She won't ask for food or water, Abby has to bring it to her. And each time Abby comes near her, she raises her arms as if she expects to be hit. Abby even had to take her chains off because they terrified Ziva so much."

"Really! Go on McGee, I sense there's more."

"Apparently, she refused Vance's offer to stay at Navy base housing and refused Gibbs' offer to go stay with him. Abby's the only one she'll let close to her, the rest of her team she backs away. Abby said she even heard her cry."

"Okay McGee, I get the idea. I think I'm gonna go see where the boss is." With that, Tony spun around quickly, in a desperate effort to stop McGee seeing the tears which were appearing on his cheeks.

XXXXXXX

"_You disgust me!" Saleem spat, "You and your people."_

_She wasn't quite sure what he meant by 'your people'. Jews? Western people? Or people who protected others from walking scum like him._

_Ziva wasn't sure how long she had been here. Her rough guess was about two weeks, if her body clock was working internally. They will come, she though, they will. She didn't know who she meant by 'they' either. Her father or her team. Except, they were her team no longer. She had left them. _

_Suddenly there was an unexpected blow to the side of her head, missing her eye by millimetres. "You witch, you will pay attention to me when I am talking to you!" Saleem spoke to her in English. She wasn't sure if it was for her benefit, she had thought he knew that she could speak Arabic, but she guessed that terrorists didn't know everything. _

_Almost immediately, he untied her from the chair, gripping her waist tightly so she couldn't run away. He laid her on the floor and put a foot on her chest for the same reason. He then called out a string of Arabic names and a group of evil-looking men appeared in the doorway. Their grins made her terrified but she did not struggle, she could see the guns tucked neatly into their waists. _

_Slowly, the men advanced upon her, one shutting the door behind him with his foot. Her screams could be heard throughout the building. But no-one came, no-one answered her pleas for help. No-one came, and it would be many months before someone did. _

Ziva woke up from her nightmare, the blankets twisted around her. She couldn't get free, and it reminded her of being tied to the chair again, of those men doing unspeakable things to her. The door opened and in came Abby. She took a moment before seeing what was wrong but then she noticed the way the blankets were twisted. Immediately she untangled them, ignoring Ziva's thrashing. When she had finished she went to give Ziva a hug but then she saw her eyes, filled with pain and fear. So she took a step back and closed the door, silently praying for a way to make her friend better.

Tony waited for his boss to get out of MTAC. Eli David had somehow found out about his daughter's rescue and as a result of Gibbs telling the Kidon team leader than Ziva was "off-limits" he was pretty pissed. He could hear Vance on the phone to him right now, considering he was standing outside the director's doorway.

"I feel your pain Eli. Gibbs is an awful son of a bitch. He might be a thorn in your side, he's a pain in my ass. Yes, yes I know you're unhappy, I know she's your daughter but you have to understand that I am your ally here. Yes, I will deal with Gibbs but you must remember, she has chosen to deal with him too. Shalom Eli."

Tony wondered who Gibb's was in MTAC with if Vance was on the phone to director David? Probably Mossad. The only person Tony hated more than Saleem Ulman was Eli David. He had sent his daughter on a suicide mission and had given up looking for her. They had abandoned one of their own in a terrorist camp. It was something Tony would not forget easily.

When Gibbs didn't come out after twenty minutes, Tony gave up. He decided to go and get him and McGee some lunch. Anything to delay the inevitable.

"Yes, Leon?" Gibbs sighed, walking into the director's office. It was bright orange, the same as everywhere else in the building. It was personalised, with photos of long forgotten boxers and champion fighters. Pictures of his kids sat on the desk in ornate photo frames,

"You have pissed Eli off royally Gibbs. He thinks that you are keeping Ziva here deliberately. He also think you had no reason to rescue her out of the desert." Vance said, while absent-mindedly pulling a toothpick from his inner pocket.

"So what did he want me to do, leave her there to die? Just because he couldn't be bothered his backside."

"That's not it Gibbs and you know it. He means she has no connection to NCIS. She has no reason to be here. He said that he will let the issue rest for now." Vance said sombrely, rapidly chewing the toothpick.

"Well you try getting her to move Leon, cause she won't talk or move or eat. We should be protecting her from bastards like Eli, not throwing her to the wolves. _I _should be protecting her."

"Why?"

"Because she's family, hell, they're all family."

An incredulous laugh from Vance, "And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"Just look at it Leon. Tony's mother died when he was eight. His father's a con man, who's idea of parenting is dumping his son in boarding schools and summer camps. McGee, we know nothing about McGee's mom, only that she doesn't keep in contact with her son. His dad, a decorated, retired navy admiral who's disappointed with his son for not going into the military, because he was good with computers, because he's different than him. Ziva's mother; we know nothing about her, I presume she's dead since she never talks of her, we've never even seen or heard about Rivka David. And her father, well we all know about him, trains his daughter to become a killer, sends her to kill her brother and then sends her on a suicide mission, when she can't complete it, he leaves her in a terrorist camp. See, Leon, they all have deadbeat parents who don't give a toss about them. But I do, _I _do. Someone's gotta."

He thought for a minute, the only noise in the room was the breakdown of the toothpick. "Very well Gibbs. I'll tell Eli David that Ziva still needs severe psychological help before she is fit to go anywhere. Be careful Gibbs, he is a very powerful man."

Gibbs smiled to himself as he left the office. He hoped that one small victory, would turn into a succession of them.

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	3. Chapter 3

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It wasn't often Tony's computer acted up, but when it did, it was on a day that the whole world seemed to have it in for him. First he'd found that his credit card had been stolen, second, his letter had come for the mandatory polygraph and now, while he was in the middle of a very important report, his computer had crashed.

"Damn machine, where's McGeek when you need him?" He shouted to no-one in particular. The bullpen was empty, in fact, the whole office was unusually void of activity. Finally, after a few minutes of playing around, Tony smacked the machine as hard as he could, taking on Gibbs' similar assault tactics.

Just then the screen fuzzed into life, although the image was different. It was a video, of Ziva. When they went to L.A. for Director Shepherd's protection detail.

"Tony, please turn that stupid camera off or else!" Ziva's voice rang out over the office.

"Or else what?" He joked, in the video, Ziva's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Or else I will break your arm in so many different ways you will not be able to put it back together." The frown on her face suggesting that she was only a minute away from carrying out her threat.

"Well put that book away and let's see the sights Zee-vah."

"No thank you Tony, I would prefer being close to the director, if anything should happen." Ziva hd been right. It was all his fault. He should have listened to her, he should have remembered that it was work first, pleasure later. He should have listened to Ziva. Because he hadn't, Jenny had died, he wouldn't let that happen again.

"She's given us the day off. She'll call if she needs us."

"Why are you such an eager platypus Tony?"

"Huh? I think you mean "beaver" Ziva, eager beaver, not platypus."

"Oh."

"Let's go!" an arm appeared in the picture, pulling Ziva up off the deck chair. She suddenly jumped up and grabbed the camera, putting her hand over the lens. Just before it went black there was a laugh, Ziva's laugh, a laugh he would give anything to hear again.

It wasn't a sign, Tony knew that. It was a video he had saved to his desktop, the computer crashing must have opened it. Yet it made him feel guilty, one of his best friends had gone through the worst thing imaginable, and he couldn't even work up the courage to talk to her? It was pathetic. But despite feeling guilt, he couldn't bring himself to do it so instead, he hit the repeat button and settled to watch the Ziva she once was.

XXX

"Come on Ziva, let's go." Abby coaxed, trying to get Ziva to move from her nest of blankets. She was going to stand her ground on this one, no matter how long it took.

Ziva shook her head, she was going to stick to her guns on this one, whatever that meant. She still could not get American idioms and that was one that she always forgot the meaning of.

"Ziva, it's just a shower. I promise I won't touch your stuff while your there. I can even come with you if you want. I'll just stand outside the shower curtain or even outside the shower-room door. You can eve leave the curtain open a little bit so you can see me in the mirror. You won't be alone for a second, I promise. I'll lock my door when we go out so all your stuff will stay the same. Come on, the HAZMAT showers are just down the hall, you can even take your gun!" It was true, the gun had never left Ziva's hand since she had come home. She would never be caught again without her weapon. The last mistake had almost cost her her life.

Ziva thought about it. A shower would feel lovely against all her scrapes and gashes, she was feeling a bit dingy. But it reminded her of Somalia, just the thought of hot water running over her body made her skin crawl, her blood turn to ice. Eventually, the feeling of dirt overcame her memory and she wearily began to stand up, the first time within a week and a half. Her bones creaked and it hurt so much. Abby immediately offered her hand to help her up but she jerked away. It was still too soon for that.

She hobbled along but then they came to a stop. It was another agent, agent Thom Jonson, she knew him and had spoken to him on several occasions. "Oh hay Thom. I was just taking Ziva to the showers." Abby smiled, she was happy - scratch that, she was ecstatic that Ziva was finally out of the lab.

"Hi Abby, hey Ziva." Thom paused, waiting for a reply but when none was forthcoming, he moved on. Abby and him moved on, talking about mundane things for a few seconds. Then suddenly Thom excused himself, saying something about director Vance. Ziva only caught one word, "_Mossad" _.

"Right Ziva, I'm gonna go get you some new clothes. Okay?"

Ziva could feel herself start to shake with fear. She didn't want to be alone.

"Oh Ziva." Abby breathed, seeing the once independent officer reduced to a hobbling, quivering wreck. "Would you rather I stayed with you? I can always send McGee to get you some, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Ziva nodded, resenting the hell out of the fact she needed someone to be in the room for her to take a shower. Ziva also knew that McGee would not mind. He would chop off his right arm if it was for Abby. She did not get that expression either; there was no-one in the world Ziva would chop off her right arm for. Once upon a time there was, once upon a time.

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	4. Chapter 4

**I'm back, hopefully these chapters will be better than the last three. **

"_You know, I think we are a lot alike," Saleem said, circling her chair, "We both kill people for our own selfish reasons." _

_Ziva bared her teeth, "I will never ever be like you Saleem." That remark earned her a slap across the face but Saleem decided it wasn't not enough. _

"_Ziva, you better tell me all you know about Mossad and NCIS operations or otherwise," He gestured to the three men behind him, "I am pretty sure that they could use more children for the cause." _

_Saleem knew just where her weak spots were, that last comment made her wince, it had hurt so much the last seven times, she was not sure she could take it again but she still held her head up high and spat into her captor's eye, "I will never tell you anything." _

"_Very well then." He said, untying her from the chair and shoving her roughly on the floor. While the other men took their turn, Saleem used his knife and cut diagonal patterns on her upper arms. While she screamed, he taunted her, saying, "You can scream all you want little Ziva, but nobody is coming to save you." _

Ziva woke up with a start and looked around the lab. It was empty. Slowly she peeled off her stop, exposing the bare flesh of her shoulder and upper arm. Here were the scars, some had faded into silver lines, strangely white against her olive skin but most were raw and red, these were the ones that were cut over and over again, re-opened with the same knife. These were the ones that were infected, that she had to take the pills for, or two of the many pills she had to take, It was a never ending cycle.

It was quite funny in a sardonic way. In Saleem's camp, all she had wanted was to be back in America, back with her team, but now she was here, all she wanted was to be dead, stiff and cold, her mind dead so that it could not think of the memories, of the nightmares.

XXX

It was cold outside, strangely cold for this time in September. Tony was starting to get paranoid, maybe this was Karma for not talking to Ziva. It wasn't like he didn't want to, rather he was more afraid. Because he hated seeing Ziva broken, he hated seeing her the shell of whom she had once been. Not that he'd ever tell he was scared, there was far to many things out there for McProbie to make fun of him already.

There was a picture of Ziva in his hands, one of her from L.A. a year and a half ago. Sometimes, when it was a really stressful moment, and he felt that everyone was judging him, he would take out the picture and just stare at it, looking at the old Ziva. But then he'd remember, she was still Ziva, and it was up to him to make her come back.

Abby had told him about Ziva taking a shower. Unfortunately that success was short lived, Ziva had retreated back into her shell, not talking, moving, eating or speaking. Just when he was thinking of going to speak to her.

XXX

McGee wasn't scared of Ziva, and he hated her thinking that he was. It was more he hated seeing who she was now, who she had become. Much like Tony, although he did his best to hide it. He came to Abby's lab for the case they were working on and through the glass door, he could see the small quivering heap of blankets.

"Hey Abs, I need you to run these tyre…" He trailed off as he saw Abby's face, lines running down her face when she had been crying, her dark make-up smudged. "What's wrong Abby?"

Abby didn't respond for a few seconds, just staring at McGee as if she has never seen him before. "She screamed at me McGee, she's never done that."

"Who screamed at you?"

"Ziva. She's never done that before, but when I went to touch her arm, she screamed. Se looked so scared McGee, a lost little girl, so scared." With that Abby flung herself into his arms, crying all over again.

"She'll get better Abs," McGee soothed, "Just you wait and see."


	5. Chapter 5

**Shalom : ) **

"What was so important you had to get security to drag me up here Leon?" Asked Gibbs, impatience and annoyance evident in his tone.

"Sorry Gibbs, I wasn't sure if you would see me, so I took extra precautions." Came the director's reply. He looked very movie-like, sitting in the black suit in the big chair behind his desk. Gibbs sighed, he was just glad it was him and not Tony, he would definitely say something about it.

Vance pressed a button, and at that moment a digital blueprint came up on the plasma, it showed the room being swept for bugs and other listening or recording devices. Then there was a little green tick with the word 'secured' in green letters flashing underneath.

"Thought you might wanna know that I got officer David's trauma report back from the hospital." He said, lazily waving a piece of paper in front of Gibbs. He wanted to snatch it out of his hand at that moment in time. He forced himself to remain calm though, punching the director of NCIS was not going to help Ziva.

"What does it say?"

"It's worse than we thought Gibbs, much worse. Saleem's men put a world of hurt on her."

"Just get straight to it Leon, before I change my mind."

"Over ninety percent of her body has cuts or gashes on it, those are just the most recent ones. Her ankle, wrist and three ribs were broken, she had a ruptured spleen which was removed at the hospital. She needed a skin graft on her back, her face was severely damaged, burnt, bruised and cut several times. Then there's the sexual abuse. Abused more than _seventy _times and then there's um… she was raped over one hundred times while she was there. Four months, most children that are abused don't suffer that much in the pace of ten years Gibbs, _one hundred times_!"

Gibbs felt his heart rate start to go up, his blood start to boil. Then he walked over to the director's door and started punching it as hard as he could. "Gibbs," the director called, sternly at first but as the punching didn't stop "GIBBS!"

He finally looked up, his hands were bloody, sore red welts taking the place of peach skin. He wanted to kill someone right now, unfortunately Saleem Ulman was already dead. _Who would be a close second? _He thought menacingly, before he threw open the door and stormed away. It was then, and only then, Leon let the tears start to fall.

_Ncisncisncisncisncisncisncis ncis_

The door to Abby's lab opened. There was nobody there, except Ziva in the ballistics lab. There was nobody to listen, except Ziva. There was the quiet hum of the machines and there was of course Abby's music on low volume. It was very peaceful, almost a soothing peace, the kind that you would be content to sit in all day.

Tony walked into the ballistics lab and saw Ziva swaying to some imaginary song in her head. She wasn't feeling as much pain today, just the dull ache that would never go away. Even in the dim light, Tony could see the scars that snaked up her arm, some white, some yellow, some red. Those were the only visible scars he could see, the rest covered up with the blanket.

"Ziva, how are you?" He began nervously, when she didn't answer, he could feel himself start to sweat, "Um, okay, stupid question. I guess um it's just that, I'm sorry I've not been able to see you." he looked at her face, seeing the vacant look in her eyes. He got angry.

"Scratch that, I didn't want to see you, because I can't, because I hate seeing you when you're broken, please, just answer me?" He almost begged, waiting for an answer. When she didn't answer, Tony got angry.

"Answer me dammit! Just bloody answer me!" he jumped up from where he was kneeling in front of her, pacing back and forth. "Stop being so selfish! This isn't about you, you can't do this to us, you can't! I can't handle seeing you like this, I can't handle seeing you broken so instead of sitting on your ass feeling sorry for yourself, you could come back to us. It was all my fault. I killed Rivkin, I made you decide to stay in Israel. If only I hadn't done it but I was jealous Ziva, he loved you and I couldn't, I couldn't! So yeah, I feel like crap. But just remember, as much as I hate your father, for sending you to Somalia, Rivkin and Saleem - if I could bring that bastard back to torture him, I would - but as much as I hate all of them, I can't hate them more than I hate myself!" He yelled, then, feeling guilty, he looked over at Ziva.

Usually, if she was yelled at, she would yell back, but now… she was crying. He went over to her, trying to comfort her but she moved away, whimpering a little at his brief touch. That's when he knew how broken she was. She was silently crying, mouth open but no sound, no sound except shaky breath. He got up and moved away from her, backing away as if he was ashamed.

He then heard a small voice as he was going out of the door. "Ani mitzta'eret."

He didn't know Hebrew, but he knew enough to know that what Ziva had said was, "I'm sorry."

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	6. Chapter 6

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She squinted at the picture and cocked her head to the side. When that didn't work, she shut her eyes really tight and then opened them really fast, trying to manipulate the picture into something it wasn't. But nope, the picture of her father stayed on the screen and it stayed being of her father.

Why hadn't he saved her? Was the big question she wanted to know. Why had her ex-team saved her and not her father? She knew the reason of course, but she didn't want to admit it; it was always the safety of Israel and Mossad that was her father's priority, only after that was it Ziva. She had known the fact for many years, but it was as if she had been denying herself of the truth; that Eli David did not care about his daughter, just his daughter's talents.

What Tony had said to her was right, she was being selfish. She needed to get back to Mossad operating standards, she highly doubted that NCIS would let her stay here for much longer. But it was too hard, just the thought of getting up made Ziva dread doing so. Once she had been able to go long distances without stopping, but now she could only dream of the Ziva she had once been.

She might have gotten up to smack the computer if Abby hadn't entered the lab. She hadn't realised she had left the picture of the bastard himself on her screen and she wouldn't have minded except that she could see Ziva was struggling to cope with her father being there. She practically sprinted over to her machine and hit the mouse hard, the screen went blank.

Ziva opened her mouth to say thank you, but no sound came out. It was as if words got lost between her brain and her mouth. In the end she kept her mouth shut, she didn't want to look like a drowning fish, if that made sense. Abby looked at her quizzically, trying to figure out what she was doing. In the end it was no use, they went back to working in the comfortable silence they had been since Ziva came out of hospital two weeks ago.

XXX

Gibbs wondered where Tony was. Last he'd seen him, he'd been going into the director's office, looking very much like a lamb to the slaughter. He'd wondered what Leon had to speak to him about, his famous gut feeling telling him it was anything but good. He tried to think if Tony had offended Vance recently, or he had done something to compromise the safety of the agency. When his mind came up blank, he gave up, trying to not to think of it. Tony was a fighter, immature but still a fighter.

Later, an hour or so, he heard a very strange banging sound coming from somewhere in the squad-room. He looked up from his computer but there was nobody there, and when he looked behind him, the whole office was void of activity. Sighing, he dragged himself up, the bangs were interspersed with muffled cries of either agony or anger.

Finally, he found out who it was. He found Tony behind the stairs leading up to MTAC, punching the daylights out of the orange wall. Not that it looked any different, but Tony on the other hand- looked a little worse for wear.

Sighing, Gibbs put a restraining hand on Tony's shoulder, "DiNozzo, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Tony whirled around to face Gibbs, eyes blazing, nostrils flaring, "Did _you know _?" He asked accusingly.

Gibbs couldn't think for a moment, there isn't much in life that Tony would get this angry about, then it clicked, director, anger, punching, Leon must have told him about Ziva's trauma report. "Yes, I did." He said, nodding.

"Did you know what he _did _to her?" Tony wrinkled his nose in anger and disgust, then, after thinking for a moment, he went back to punching the wall.

"Whoa, just stop that now. Punching the wall isn't going to help Ziva and I'm pretty sure it will piss the director off when he has to pay for damages." Gibbs said warningly, although he could feel the pain radiating off his senior field agent.

Tony sat down, his back against the wall, cradling his fist with his other hand. The pain wasn't just in his hand, it was everywhere, coursing through his veins like a poison. He hadn't felt this bad since his mother had died when he was eight and there had been a lot of bad things since then, the plague, Kate dying, being framed for murder to name but a few. But this was different.,. Ziva was different.

He looked up at Gibbs, suddenly feeling a momentary pang of hate, "Why don't you visit her boss? You're the closest thing she has to a father… and you don't visit."

Gibbs sighed and sat down beside DiNozzo. He understood the feeling of helplessness, the feeling that life was never going to get better. "I do Tony, every single day."

Tony tuned, looked into the blue eyes and saw that he wasn't lying, somehow it would have been easier if he was, then at least he would know where he stood. He was floating in space, unsure of what was real, or what was left and what was right.

"Why doesn't she talk boss? If you visited her, why won't she speak, why won't she move or eat or just move from that pile of blankets? Why?"

"I don't know. My guess is that when's she ready, she'll talk."

"Why didn't you take her home with you boss?"

Gibbs sighed, he really didn't want to relive the moment when Ziva had been scared of him but he deserved to know. "I told her, when she came out of hospital, that she would come home with me. But she didn't answer, she just drove the car to NCIS. I came down to the lab to take her back with me but she looked so scared of me, like I was going to hurt her. I even considered taking her back with me when she was asleep, but I thought that would hurt her more, waking up and not knowing how she got there, so I didn't. And now I regret that decision to hell."

Tony still looked wary, this was not the Ziva who he knew, this was not the angry person who threatened to cut off his arm when he annoyed her. This was not Ziva. Then another thought came to mind. "Boss, why isn't she pretending to be fine? Ziva never admits she's not fine, I mean you can tell. But she won't show it, 'cause she's _Ziva!_"

"'Cause she can't DiNozzo. She can't because she's not thinking straight." Gibbs got up, wincing a little as his joints groaned and creaked. "Talk to her Tony, and don't yell at her this time." He said, as he walked away.

**Please review : ) **


	7. Chapter 7

Autopsy was always peaceful. And cold. When the world above was hot and busy, the subterranean bowels of NCIS were always cool and empty. Except for the famous Dr Mallard, who inhabited autopsy like a ghost. A ghost with a degree in forensic psychology, which was exactly why Gibbs was looking for him.

"Hay Duck, I got something for ya," Gibbs hollered, breezing into autopsy with his full cup of coffee. It was autumn outside but even in September autopsy was freezing, hence the full cup of coffee, he always waited until he got to autopsy to drink it.

"Oh hello Jethro, I was just about to call you. I have a very interesting story and it-"

"Duck," Gibbs interjected, and he dropped a file on the desk, sending a sheaf of loose papers flying.

"What is it, may I ask, and why have you brought it to me?"

"It's your thing." He said simply, taking a very long swig of coffee. Gibbs shivered a little inside his thick wool coat. He had just gotten into work and it was colder inside the building than it was out. Maybe he should have a talk with Vance…

"Well since there is no body present and I'm not expecting one, I'm assuming you mean my other 'thing'. Forensic psychology. Ah, well, lets see what we have here." He said, in the same cheerful voice he had used for many years. Well, that was until he saw whose agent photo was inside the file. "You want me to do a psychological report on _Ziva_?"

"Yeah, is that a problem?"

"Why Jethro, do you not think the poor girl has been through enough, without me digging through her worst memories?" Ducky sighed and got up from the table.

"I need to know how she is Duck, I need to see how broken she is." It might have helped if Gibbs had said please, but he didn't. It wasn't a rule but it could have been; _Rule 64 - Never say please unless it's a really desperate situation, that way, when you say it, it actually means something. _

"Fine Jethro, but I hope you aren't expecting miracles. Miracle worker I am _not._"

"Thanks Duck." Gibbs said, relief evident in his tone. He left after that was said, glad to be away from the chilling room and the heavy atmosphere to go with it.

Ducky sighed at Gibbs' quick departure and turned to the x-ray light. He pulled out an envelope which was well-worn, the edges soft and fraying. He pulled out the x-rays and held them up to the light. He sighed once more, taking in all of Ziva's injuries, the three broken ribs, broken ankle and the broken wrist. "Oh my dear," He said in anguish, "What did they do to you?"

. . .

How can music hold so many emotions? It was always a mystery to Abby, whom for music was a big part of her life. She rarely played it at home, the nuns disliked her taste in music. Abby didn't like classical but church hymns were okay, they were very peaceful and the nuns were beautiful singers.

On her speakers right now was Israeli music she had never heard of. She had found it downloaded onto Ziva's desk computer and had decided it might be a comfort. It was alright, she decided, not the type of music she would really listen to. The language was also difficult, it was in Hebrew and although Ziva could understand it, nobody else could. Abby didn't really like lyrics. She preferred to decide how she felt when she heard the music, instead of the music dictating it for her.

All of a sudden, opera music came on. Abby cringed, then sidled back over to her computer, wonder why the hell it was on. It was simple. Abby had downloaded the whole play list that was on Ziva's computer, it must have been in amongst the other Israeli hip-hop/funk. Abby looked over to Ziva, hoping she wasn't disturbed by the change in music. As the voice of some opera singer filled the room, Abby could have sworn she saw a tear make it's way down Ziva's cheeks. Soon she was sobbing, silently, mouth open in a silent scream. She rocked back and forth, feeling all the old pain mix with the new. It hurt so much, everything just hurt so much. Why wouldn't it go away, why wouldn't it just leave her alone? Why?

Abby looked on from behind the door, feeling the pain as if she hurt herself. It was the music but it wasn't the music itself if that made sense. It was the memories the music held, some painful part of Ziva's life which she would probably never know. If life was a file, Ziva's would be stamped with 'CLASSIFIED' in red letters all over. She was a mystery, a very beautiful enigma. Abby liked mysteries, the liked the way there was always something new to learn but she wasn't so sure she wanted to solve this one.

…

"Hello Abigail, I was wondering if you could spare Ziva for a while." Ducky called out, a clipboard and pen in one hand. He looked around the room for Abby, spotting her at her mass spectrometer, slurping Caf-Pow like there was no tomorrow.

"Ducky," Abby cried in affection, "Sure, why?"

"Jethro wants a psychological report to go along with the trauma report. I don't see why, I think she has been through enough."

"Just be gentle with her Ducky, she's not the same Ziva she was before summer." Abby said, giving one last piece of advice before opening the door of her ballistics lab and going back to her Caf-Pow.

Duck was surprised, he had not seen Ziva in over a week and was surprised at how much could change in that short window of time. He went to shake her hand, but withdrew when she jerked back. She jarred her elbow against the wall from pulling back to quickly, but she couldn't cry, so she just held onto to it, adding the pain to the list.

"Hello my dear, I am assuming you already know why I'm here, for a psychology report. Try to answer all the questions I ask you. If you choose to tell me something in confidence, I will not scribble it on down in my notes. So, with that said, how are you feeling today?"

Ziva eyed him warily. She knew Ducky wouldn't hurt her, but on the surface there was the instinct to run, to flee instead of fight. She sat up straight a little, ready to run. She did try to answer, Ducky could see that, but the words got scrambled between her head and her mouth. All she could come up with were Hebrew words, and even then they didn't make sense. So she stayed quiet, watching Ducky with interest.

"Okay then, maybe another question, Why will you not let anyone close to you?" He asked the question gently but Ziva didn't take it that way; she saw it as an accusation, that it was her fault. She felt angry and tried to speak, all that came out was an angry growl, which Ducky understood immediately. He backed off a little.

"Well maybe that wasn't such a good question. I do have your trauma report from the director, I can see how much pain you're in, if you let us help you, your road to recovery will be much easier." He said gently, trying to get her to open up to him, to get her to see that nobody hated her, nobody blamed her. Ziva hand clenched into a fist at her sides; how dare they look t her trauma report, it was patient confidentiality, just like her memories about Somalia.

Ducky sighed, he could see he was getting nowhere. He looked through the glass window, stretching his neck, only to see the entire team - even Jimmy- standing by Abby's computers, silently watching him. Waiting for some news. He got up, feeling his joint bones creak and groan, "See that my dear, that shows you are not alone, that you will never be alone. If you ever want to talk, to a _friend, _I will be in Autopsy. Nobody blames you, you must remember that." He walked out of the room, looking back at Ziva. He could have sworn he saw a tear roll down her cheek. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, when he looked back, it was gone.

Abby went in just as he was coming out. "Hey Ziva, I have your naproxen and your Ice pack. Let's make you a bit more comfortable, hm?" She squatted down in front of Ziva, handing her the small white tablets and a drink of water.

"What is she on naproxen for?" Ducky asked. The rest of the team looked at him in surprise, since when did Ducky not know about the tablets?

"Her broken ribs. For pain and inflammation. That's what the ice's for as well." Gibbs stated, chucking his coffee cup into the trash. He walked out of the room without an explanation, though most of the team thought it was something to do with the director.

"Ah, of course." Ducky sighed, watching Abby come back out with an empty tray. "How has she been Abby?"

"She's pissed right now but most of the time she just stares at the wall. I tried putting music on for her, seeing if sensory stimuli would jolt her out of her conscious coma but no luck, it just made her cry. It was opera music. Don't know if that's significant or anything…" Abby shrugged in defeat and went back to her mass spectrometer.

Just then there was a noise, low and pitiful. It was Ziva and in her raspy voice, she said "Bekhi?"

"What did she say McGee?" Abby demanded, "Was it Hebrew?"

"I dunno, probably." He said, "Why?"

"We need to find out what she said McGee, it's the first word she's spoken in two weeks." Abby's fingers started flying over the keyboard, typing in what Ziva said into online language translators. McGee joined her, their joint efforts not rewarding them with anything.

"She said Cry." Gibbs strolled into the room with a fresh cup of coffee.

"I thought you didn't speak Hebrew boss?" Tony asked, incredulous. Although he himself had been able to translate what Ziva had said to him a few days ago.

"I don't DiNozzo, but I know enough that she was saying cry, though it sounded like a question." Gibbs snapped, not feeling in the mood to beat about the bush. In the next room, Ziva said "Bekhi," again, although it wasn't a question this time.

It was Ducky who broke the overwhelming silence. "Oh my God, she's asking permission to cry." He said, his mouth open in shock.

"Why would she be doing that?" It was Tony who asked, leaning lazily against Abby's evidence table until a swift palm to the back of his head made him stand up straight.

"Well DiNozzo, think, why would she be doin' that?"

"I have no idea boss."

"Well maybe I do. The fact that she is Mossad may contribute to this, she had been forced to hide her feelings, forced to be made inhuman. Crying is human, it allows us to express our feelings, Ziva has never been allowed that luxury. She's asking for permission before she does it, so she won't get into trouble." Ducky sighed audibly.

"What does that tell us Duck?" Gibbs asked, impatiently.

"It tells us, that she is more broken that we originally thought ."

Just then one of the director's servants burst through the door to Abby's lab, much to her displeasure. He was breathless and nervous to be the one to deliver the news to the formidable Agent Gibbs. "Sir, the director wants to see you immediately, Director David of the Israeli Mossad flew out of Tel Aviv first thing this morning."

Gibbs was immediately upright and paying attention, "Where's he goin'"

"D.C."

**Please review, pretty please and give me advice for future chapters. Pretty please ? **


	8. Chapter 8

Gibbs felt the anger start to bubble. "Aw hell, DiNozzo, call base security, tell them nobody from Mossad is granted access. That includes damn Deputy Director David. McGee, find out when his flight lands and tell me as soon as you can, then help Abby hack Mossad, I want to find out what Eli's plans are. Duck, go back to autopsy. I'll call you if you're needed here."

"Hack… M…Mossad boss, are you sure?" Stuttered McGee, as visions of dark concrete cells ran through his mind.

Gibbs cut him a look.

"Of course you're sure, boss. Otherwise you wouldn't have asked me." He shot a look at Abby, that he hoped conveyed his terror. His hands flew across the keyboard, for air traffic, departures and arrivals.

Gibbs breezed out the lab and called over his shoulder, "Anyone needs me I'll be in with Vance."

The team behind him exchanged glances ; Gibbs was furious; the kind that came with spilling his coffee or a member of another agency threatening his team.

The door to Vance's office shook and rattled with the force of being slammed shut by Agent Gibbs. It wasn't every day the director got an angry stand-off with Gibbs, but when he did, he always kept an extra supply of tooth-picks in his desk drawer for such an occasion.

"Really Leon? You had to send one of your little servants to do your bidding? The guy was scared half to death when he came to see me!" Gibbs said, half of the anger taken out on the elevator ride.

Leon sighed and reached for that toothpick. He had known Gibbs wasn't going to like it. "Gibbs, I don't own Eli David and he doesn't exactly trust me anymore," he looked pointedly at Gibbs, "I only found out when his next- in- command phoned me and told me that Eli was on the plane. How is Ziva?"

Gibbs took a deep breath. , "She's okay. Getting stronger."

"Hm," Leon frowned at the blatant lie. He knew how Gibbs felt about Ziva. He also knew how he felt about Ziva's father. "What do I do Gibbs? I can't ban him from NCIS."

"Sure you can. , DiNozzo's already told base security that no Mossad officer is to be granted access. Just tell Eli that Ziva's not ready for visitors, and he'll go away."

"That's your problem Gibbs. You underestimate Eli David." Leon rounded on him, "You may not know what he's capable of but _I _do."

"Me too Leon. Believe me, I do."

"Nobody's gonna win here Gibbs, are they?"

" Unless you give up then no, nobody's going to win."

….

"_Get up you worthless Jew, you are nothing, pathetic and useless. GET UP! GET. UP!" Saleem spat at her._

"Ziva, Ziva," Abby called gently, "Come on, wake up." She gently touched her shoulder and Ziva's eyes flitted open. She jerked her arm away from Abby, jarring her elbow. She looked up at Abby and saw the worry in her eyes. She did not like seeing her friend this way. Tentatively, she reached out and touched Abby's arm. Abby, shocked, put her hand over Ziva's and waited for her to jerk away- but she didn't.

Abby moved first, sensing she was uncomfortable, "I'll just go get your naproxen," she whispered. She moved away in a daze. When she came back she was her cheery old self. There was no trace of shock. "Here," she said, handing her a glass of water and the little white tablet. , "Remember to cough or take a deep breath every hour, Ziva. I know it hurts, but you need to if you don't want to get pneumonia or a collapsed lung."

Ziva handed back the half empty glass of water and coughed feebly. Abby looked distinctly unimpressed. Ziva tried again and this time phlegm came up. She looked in horror at the goo from her throat. Abby wiped it away quickly.

"See? I know that hurts and I'm sorry you had to see that, but it's for your own good, I promise." She did a happy little giggle and danced all the way back to her computer.

Ziva sighed a small, sad sigh. She was glad she had been able to make Abby happy, but she couldn't find the words to tell her that she was sorry. The only time her brain and mouth seemed to work together when Tony was , when . Sshe had apologised. She wondered if he had understood her, but , it didn't matter. Only Abby talked to her rather than at her. It annoyed her more than anyone would believe.

"_You are alone cares. Look at your father. , Iif he loved you, I would be dead and you would be in Mossad or in Israel, staying with him. If _you _loved _him_, you would not have gone to America. You are alone." Saleem circled around her chair, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and stubbing it out on Ziva's hand. He swore at her like she was nothing. He always did it in Hebrew – as if it was more insulting. He sometimes got it wrong though, which made Ziva laugh in spite of herself. She paid for it though – she always did._

….

"What d'ya got Duck?" called Gibbs, strolling into autopsy with a little more bounce in his step. , Abby's good news had reached his ears. He noticed Ducky hunched over at his desk though when he came over, Ducky quickly shut the thick file with an audible boom.

"Ah Jethro, to what do I owe your presence?" He sounded like Ducky, but there was definitely something off about the lively old Scotsman.

"Ziva's psychological report. I want to see it." Gibbs replied bluntly, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Why wasn't Ducky just handing it over?

"Ah, well that is going to be a little bit of a problem, since I don't have it."

Gibbs sighed in annoyance, "Well where is it?"

"Perhaps I should have been a little more clear, I don't have it because I don't have _one_. She refused to speak to me, and when I asked her how she was feeling she just looked at me. I have a feeling that deep down, she is still the same stubborn Ziva, not going to do something she doesn't want to do unwillingly."

Gibbs sighed in exasperation; he really thought Ziva was getting better. However, he was glad that Ziva was being stubborn; it showed that all was not lost, and tthat there was still a chance she could come back. "Did you know her father's coming?"

Ducky sighed and nodded, "Yes, I have, although at first I did think it to be a rumour."

"Nope, and nobody knows why either. That guy's a bastard Duck, I don't want him anywhere near Ziva. Neither does Tony, Abs, McGee, Vance. Nobody."

Ducky came closer, until he was right in Gibbs' face, "Well tell her that, Jethro. Make her feel like she's not alone. Let her know you're there for her." He was practically spitting the words, letting the fury crash over him like a tidal wave.

"She knows Duck. Trust me, she knows." Gibbs said softly, letting the words echo around the room. He then departed autopsy, punching the button for the elevator a little harder than was necessary.

Ducky could hear the _ding _as Gibbs stepped into it. Suddenly he was tired, as if life had finally caught up with him. He stood there, facing the door and whispered, "No, she doesn't."

….

"Boss, Director David's flight took off at 0600 Israeli standard time, that makes it 2300 in DC. With it being twelve hours to fly from Tel Aviv," McGee looked at his watch, "That means Eli David's flight lands at eleven-hundred hours." He went back to the computer and started to type rapidly.

"He's right, Gibbs. The director's flight lands at Dulles at eleven thirty. You got half an hour." Abby interjected, slurping on the last dregs of a Caf-Pow. The speakerphone beeped, a sure indication that Gibbs had snapped his phone shut, turned the charger around and heading for Dulles.

"Is he mad?" McGee asked.

"Oh yeah, he's pissed off." Abby said, the words sounding strange in her bouncy tone, "We don't have time to worry about that though, we gotta hack into Mossad, see if they can tell us anything."

McGee gulped, he wouldn't do well in a Mossad interrogation room. "Erm Abby, you do know what will happen if we get caught, right?"

Abby put a sympathetic hand on his arm and slurped her Caf-Pow some more. "Of course I do McGee, but that's why we're not gonna get caught."

….

Ziva just wanted the voices to stop. It was practically a running commentary in her mind. Stolen pieces of dialogue from Ari, her father and Saleem's mouths. They were like flashbacks except she was in present time. They were harsh reminders of her failures, of how much a disappointment she really was.

"_You killed your own brother Ziva. How can you pretend you are better than me?" _

She didn't understand why she couldn't speak. She knew what she wanted to say but it was as if there was a missing link between her brain and her mouth, as if the words fell into a hole. Sometimes she could speak, but only in Hebrew and only a few words. It was still something.

She could here McGee and Abby jumping and shouting next door. They must have penetrated another firewall that protected Mossad's database, shame they would never get in. Unbeknown to them, there was always a person that monitored the firewalls, and even though they thought they were getting closer, the person on the other end just kept setting more up. Like walking on a treadmill; you can run until you're a sweating mess, but you'll not have gone any further than you were at the start.

She took this hour's big cough and felt the phlegm come up. She feebly reached for the tissue but it was too far away. She had to get up and get it, overcome her fears. She extended her arms and pushed herself off the floor, wobbling a bit. Her muscles protested; they hadn't been used in over a week. She ignored it and continued to hobble over to the table. But her muscles were still screaming and Ziva fell, hitting her head of the side of the table. She lay there, the open head wound leaving a puddle of blood, horrifyingly beautiful against the white of the floor.


	9. Chapter 9

Dulles was unusually busy considering it was a Wednesday and there were no festivities or holidays that usually ensued this type of activity. Gibbs sighed and looked down at his watch - 11:29 am- the director's flight landed early he should have been appearing shortly.

"What do we do boss?" Tony asked, casting a worried glance at Gibbs. He knew how much he despised Eli David and if he didn't, well he could see it now; the clenched jaw, hands reaching for his SIG, the cold determination in his eyes to find director David.

"We wait DiNozzo. We wait until he appears."

Tony gulped a little. "This is gonna be peaceful boss, right? The last time I saw Eli David we weren't exactly best friends." Gibbs jaw clenched so tightly that Tony thought he might break a tooth or something.

Suddenly, they both spotted a little posse making their way through the arrivals lounge. Two officers in front, one at either side and two behind. Tony recognized officer Hadar, though none of the other faces were familiar. Wow, that doesn't look suspicious at all he sighed, watching the officers' cool gaze sweep sweep the area looking for suspicious activity.

The officers drew their weapons the second Tony and Gibbs got close. Even when the duo flashed their badges they didn't put away their weapons. Was the ID hard to read or something? It was only when Director David told them harshly to put down their weapons did they comply. Even then they looked wary.

"Ah, Shalom Agent Gibbs, I was not expecting to see you so soon." Said Eli David, a confident smile spreading across his face.

"Yeah, well neither was I, until you got on a plane in Tel Aviv bound for D.C." Gibbs said, itching to smack that smile off his face. Unfortunately, the director's little bodyguards were looking at him as if he might do exactly that. Gibbs prided himself on being unpredictable.

"Well I have business in D.C."

"Does that business go by the name of Ziva David?" Gibbs could hear the officers take a collective intake of breath. He guessed that not many people spoke to the director about Ziva that way.

"Maybe. Now, if you will be so kind," He made a gesture to indicate making a space. Gibbs did no such thing.

"No, I think it's best if you come with me, we'll take you to NCIS." From the team's point of view (the Mossad officers' and Tony's ) It looked like two very strong men going head-to-head. And not one of them did a thing to stop it.

"Very well then. Isaac and Liana, you will travel with me. Everyone else with follow us back to NCIS," he ordered.

Tony scrutinized Liana, seeing the olive skin and the very pretty eyes. She was pretty in a completely obvious way and knew it, which made Tony dislike her a little bit. He was pretty sure that beauty came as an asset when trying to extract information from certain people but it didn't make her a good person. However, being a male, his eyes practically glued themselves to her, until of course she turned around and gave his arm a very painful twist. "Stop looking at my backside Agent DiNozzo, or I _will _kill you."

It cut deeper than it should have. The comment reminded him too much of Ziva, of how she used to throw papaerclips at him and it would hurt way more than any paperclip ever should. He missed her so much it gave him a physical pain in his chest. He shook his head and turned away, sliding into the car, turning to face the window so nobody would see the tears.

….

Ducky walked into Abby's lab, holding a specimen jar in either hand. Their latest case was proving to be a real head-scratcher and even the smallest pieces of evidence could not be ignored. That was why there was a splinter in one jar and a tiny flake of dandruff in the other.

He was distracted from his musings by the sight of two young adults jumping around like three-year olds. Well, mainly Abby. Her voice was delightfully child-like when she squealed, "We did it McGee, we cracked a Mossad firewall!"

"Abby!" Ducky shouted over all their congratulating, "I need you to look at these samples." His voice became softer as he handed the jars over to Abby. The goth scientist was flushed from excitement, black tendrils escaping her pigtails. He looked over at McGee, who was equally as flushed and excited.

"Ducky, we just hacked _Mossad_, ." Abby said slowly, calming down a little. She came around from her computer and stood in front of Ducky, taking the specimen jars from him. It was when she turned around to go back to her computers did she notice Ziva lying on the floor.

"Oh my god," she breathed, rushing to the room. McGee and Ducky followed suit, wondering what could have made her drop the jars and rush to the ballistics lab. They soon got their answer.

Abby was kneeling on the floor, checking for a pulse. She swore loudly when she couldn't find one in her wrist and moved to check her neck. She relaxed a little when she felt it underneath her fingers, beating strong and sure. Her eyes then started to scan, looking for any obvious cause of injury. Hen she got to her head, Abby gasped.

"What is it?" asked Ducky. Surely it couldn't be good?

"A head injury Ducky. Looks like she banged it off the table. It doesn't look too deep but it might need a few stitches." Abby then turned to McGee, her voice a hushed whisper, "How could we not notice McGee? We should have heard her fall."

McGee looked at Abby with sympathy although that was all he could manage right now. He was starting to feel sick. He never had gotten used to seeing blood and especially when it was his friend's …

For a moment they all stood there, like actors in a play who had forgotten their lines. Then Ducky sprang into action. "Abigail, you stay here with Ziva while Timothy and I go and get the first aid kit." The relif was clear on McGee's face as he trailed out after Ducky.

Abby stayed where she was, stroking Ziva's temple with her forefingers. It hurt to see her best-friend acting like this, although it wasn't an act. It was real. She felt so incredbly guilty for not noticing earlier although she knew it would not do much good.

"It'll be okay," Abby whispered softly, "Just you wait and see. You'll get better. I promise."

…..

There was a foreboding sense in the director's office. Two short-tempered men glaring at each other. Neither made any attempt to hide their hatred for the other. Eli David leaned heavily against the Director's cabinet, looking far too casual and comfortable. Gibbs, on the other hand, was standing rigid and looking Eli straight in the eye. It took all of his self-restraint to stand still and not shoot Eli David where he stood.

Then the door opened and in stepped Director Vance. Both men turned their head and stared at him, which made the Director of NCIS feel uncomfortable. If he made Eli David unhappy, he risked losing a valuable friendship with Mossad and his sort-of friendship with Eli. But, if he made Gibbs unhappy, he would hear about it every day until he died, or Gibbs retired, which would probably be when he died.

"Good afternoon gentleman. I trust that this meeting today will be strictly professional, and we won't let our personal feelings get in the way?" Leon knew, even as he said it, that it wasn't going to happen. That was the whole reason they were having this meeting; their personal feelings for Ziva.

"I was under the… impression that this meeting was _about _our personal feelings." Eli said in his heavily accented voice. He was smug, like he already knew the answer and was just trying to be a smart-ass. It made Gibbs' muscles in his hands clench even tighter.

Vance ignored him and made to sit down, He motioned for them to sit down also. When they had, he pressed the intercom on his phone and said, "Cynthia, now." In came Cynthia with a tray of coffees. Gibbs' hands unclenched and he felt his murderous rage against Eli lessen, just a little bit; the coffe relaxing him a little bit.

"Now that that's sorted, let's get down to business. Eli," Said the director, giving Eli a sharp look, "Why are you here?"

Director David took a deep breath and said, "It is my understanding that you rescued my daughter from that terrorist camp. I have come to see how she is - as you Americans put it - 'holding up'."

Even from behind his desk, Vance could feel the anger radiating off Gibbs in waves. Eli was one slippery bastard, feigning innocence and passion. Vance should have expected it; the guy was Mossad after all, they got first prize for lying. Still, this man was devious. He knew exactly was buttons to press to wind up people. He was a very evil puppet master.

"You could have called Eli. You could have requested an MTAC conference. You didn't need to spend twelve hours on a flight." Said Vance. If she was his daughter, he would have been on the first flight to get her and would have never left her side. But Director Vance was not the same person as Director Eli David, and he thanked God for that every day.

"She is my daughter, Leon. You cannot tell me that you would not have been on a flight to see her if she was her."

"Yeah but, you weren't on the first plane to Africa, to the stopover in Germany or even here in D.C. You have never been there Eli, which makes me wonder why are you here now?" Gibbs interjected, once he could trust himself to speak without swearing or saying things he would later regret.

"I have been occupied, Agent Gibbs," Eli said with a curl of the lip, as if he was talking to something disgusting, "It is not so easy to give everything up for family. Besides, I knew my daughter was in good hands."

"Your _daughter _has a name." Gibbs said through clenched teeth.

"Yes, I know. I am the one who gave it to her."

"Well use it then. Her name's Ziva. Talk like she's a human being at least." Gibbs growled, feeling his anger heat-up again.

Eli David looked at him as if he were bug that needed to be squashed. "My daughter is _my _daughter Agent Gibbs. I will talk about her how I like because I am her father. Now if you will be so kind," Eli stood up, straightening his suit. "Please take me to her."

….

Sunlight filtered through Ziva's eyelashes. Groaning a little, she tried to sit up and panicked when she realised she couldn't. Once she had opened her eyes fully,she could see that it was because Ducky was holding her, not because she was trapped in chains.

"Shush my dear, you're okay. You have quite a nasty cut to the back of your head. Not to worry, it's all stitched up now." Ducky smiled encouragingly. Behind the smiles was the worry of concussion and the effect it could have on Ziva psychologically.

Ziva struggled a little, her meaning clear. Ducky let her go and she pulled herself into a sitting position. Looking around, she saw that the time had changed from late morning to late afternoon. She was also on the other side of the ballistics lab, rather than against the computer desk.

Seeing no signs of trauma, Ducky patted her knee and got up, pleased when she did not flinch or pull away. Ziva watched him go with a trained eye. She wanted to get up and follow him, to go and act like everything was normal. She could only watch though, watch as if she was not there.

Sighing, she rested her head against the wall. She was so tired, she just wanted to sleep in a proper bed. But she was too afraid to leave her sitting position in Abby's lab. She felt so safe here, knowing how many locks Abby had on the door. Even though, she still felt wary- as if someone from Somalia wwas coming to seek revenge.

The door swished open and she heard several footsteps enter the lab. She did not pay much attention until one person cleared their throat, and Ziva found herself looking into the cold, hard eyes of her father.

**Okay, i've been getting some grief about how Ziva would never act like this and she would just pretend to be fine. I know she would, but this is strictly AU and Ziva is a little OOC with her quietness and stuff but i have this big thing planned so hopefully that will be resolved soon. As always please review and have a good day. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own NCIS or any of the characters. If i did Tony and Ziva would have been married with Kids by now, Jenny would still be alive, McGee and Abby would be married and she would be pregnant and Jimmy/Breena would have kids as well. Yeah, it's probably best i don't own NCIS. **


	10. Chapter 10

There was a resounding silence. Everyone held their breath to see how Ziva would react to the cause of her pain standing before her. If they were hoping for a public display of emotion then they were sorely disappointed. Ziva stared at her father for a few moments and then lowered her head.

"Mah Shlomecha?" Eli inquired. It was more like he was asking a stranger out of politeness rather than asking how his daughter was.

Ziva didn't answer and kept her head down, matted hair covering her face. Eli - in a moment of tenderness- reached out to move it behind her ear. Ziva's head snapped up and in one fluid motion she had thumb tapped him. He looked at his daughter and saw she was not the Mossad officer he had raised her to be, nor the soft-hearted NCIS agent. Who he saw now was a shell of any Ziva she had been.

"Ziva, you are safe here. Saleem is dead. He can no longer hurt you," Eli whispered, gently moving Ziva's hand off his own. She looked at him and hoped there was something behind those eyes, emotion, feeling. But there was nothing and that was when she realised that everything was a charade, even her father.

….

"Come on McGoo, you must be able to find out _something,_" Tony whined from his desk. They had been sent back upstairs and ever since Tony had been restless for new information.

McGee sighed, "Look Tony, I'm sure Gibbs would've called if there was anything new. Now will you just quit it and get back to work."

"Can you not do your computer hackety thing?" Tony said, coming over to McGee's desk only to see him quickly shut down his computer tab.

Annoyed that his personal space was being invaded, McGee said, "For goodness sake Tony, this isn't about you so just stop it. No, I'm not going to hack the lab's camera because there's no need to and as I said before, Gibbs will call if there is anything new."

Tony wore his _duh _look, "Not if he's beating up the Director of Mossad."

McGee suddenly looked very concerned, "Fine then Tony, let me see what I can do. But I warn you, if Gibbs catches us he's gonna head slap you into the middle of next year."

Tony looked affronted, "Why d'you assume I'm gonna be the one he's gonna head slap, McSpy"

"Because there is no way he will think that I came up with the idea to spy on him."

Tony had no answer to that.

…..

Down in Lab Abby, the tension was almost at breaking point. Gibbs was looking at Vance who was looking at Eli who was looking at Ziva who was staring at a wall. Gibbs' hand clenched around his coffee cup, wishing it was Eli's throat. Couldn't he see how much pain he was causing his daughter?

Eli tried again. "Ziva, I am your father. You can talk to me, you _should _talk to me." His voice was soft, caring even but Ziva was no fool. She could see behind the false voice and passion, she had been doing so for years. Ever since her childhood.

"No." Ziva's voice was low. "No, I should not."

Eli was taken aback. He had not expected his daughter to talk back to him like that. He looked over at Gibbs who seemed just as shocked as him. Gibbs seemed to take some pleasure in it though; the first words couple of English sentences that Ziva's said in a while and it's to disrespect Eli. Amazing.

"Ziva," Eli's tone was insistent now, "I cannot help you if you will not talk. You complain of me never being there in the past well I am here now. You have to talk."

Ziva stared at her father, desperately wanting to believe that this was because he wanted to talk and not because it was expected of him. She wanted to hurt him, make him hurt the way she did, make him realise what he had done to her, what he had turned her into. She wanted to cry, but she would never cry in front of her father so that left one other option: get angry.

"No! I do not have to talk. You say I complain of you never being there in the past, I have never actually said those things. Yes, I have thought it many a time but those words have never crossed my lips which means that you know that you were never there. You know. I know you are here because it is expected of you, you are not here because you care. You never did care. I was just your weapon. That is what you moulded me to be, your weapon."

There was a pregnant silence before the NCIS Director decided to step in, wanting to make sure that nobody got hurt today. Although judging from the tears running down Ziva's face, it was a bit late for that.

"Let's go to my office, Eli. We can talk there."

Eli stalked out of the room, head held as high as he could manage. He was not used to his daughter speaking to him in that tone or anyone for that matter. Eli was used to people obeying his command, flinching under his glare. But Ziva was his daughter; she was stubborn and would speak to him in any way she liked, she would meet his glare evenly.

Gibbs looked at Ziva until she looked at him. When she did, he mouthed 'good job' and gave her a thumbs up. That earned a small smile. Gibbs nodded his head and turned to go back to the squad room to slap DiNozzo silly. Of course he had seen the red light on Abby's security camera turn on and of course he knew it would have been DiNozzo who would have convinced McGee to do it. Gibbs sighed, one of these days the agents would learn that Gibbs was still able to see and hear. Until that day however, there was always head slaps.

…

"I'm telling you Ducky, I think it's more than PTSD. I mean, did you see how scared she was when she first came back?" Abby paced back and forth in front of Ducky, pigtails swaying.

"And I'm telling _you _that what we saw was a definite symptom of PTSD. It will be an advanced case of it sure, because of what transpired in Somalia." Ducky sighed. He had been trying to get through to Abby for the past half hour. She was convinced that Ziva was suffering from something more serious than Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. While that was a serious condition in itself, Abby was convinced there was something more.

"Yeah, that's what the doctor said in the hospital. That's not what it think though, I think there's something darker going on there. Just look at her, she's terrified!" Abby stopped her pacing and stood in front of Ducky, looking deep into his eyes as if looking for an answer. Obviously not finding what she was looking for, she muttered a quick, "never mind," and walked out of Autopsy.

Ducky sighed internally. He was worried about Ziva as well, but could not think of what else it could be other than PTSD. Al the classic signs were there- insomnia, nightmares, hyperarousal and there was obvious flashbacks. He was sure Abby was just seeing things that weren't there, sometimes people do that when they are very attentive to a person - they notice even the tiniest of things. Even though, it was a feeling that he couldn't shake off.

…..

"This is an outrage, Leon. My daughter has been brainwashed to think less of me. I am telling you, before she came to America she would never have dared to speak to me like that. _Never._"

Director Vance sighed at Eli's rage. He had been listening to this nonsense of the best part of half an hour. So far he had resisted the urge to say '_maybe she has just come to her senses on who her father really is'_ but he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to keep it up. Vance was starting to see why Eli David annoyed Gibbs so much.

"Eli," Vance began, stopping his fellow Director mid-rant, "I think you're being a little unreasonable here. She's always been a little stubborn, maybe now she's finally trying to tell you how she feels." It was a pathetic attempt at what Vance really wanted to say, he knew that. But he also knew that if Ziva knew eighteen different ways to kill someone with a paperclip then Eli probably knew thirty.

"I do not think that is the case, Leon. I think this so called _team _have made her think I am some kind of monster." Eli began to pace furiously.

"I really don't think that's the case. Nobody can make Ziva think anything, you should know that Eli." Vance got up from behind his desk. "Do you need me to arrange you somewhere to stay?"

Eli looked horrified. "No thank you, Leon. I already have a safe-house arranged for me."

"Very well then. Allow me to walk you out." Vance held the door open for Eli on his way out. It was quite annoying the way Eli walked, like he knew the power he held in his hands.

When they passed the bullpen, Tony was in the middle of giving McGee a hard time about his computer skills. Then of course he noticed the duo and both agents stared, surprised that Eli was walking out of the building still standing. Then Gibbs came up behind him and gave him the head slap of his life.

"Is Agent Gibbs always so…." Eli trailed off, unsure of what English word would fit.

"Arrogant?"

"Yes. He seems to think himself better than others on the team."

"Ach, it's just the way he comes across. Although I won't lie to you Eli, Gibbs is an awful son of a bitch."

….

"DiNozzo, snap out of it." Gibbs clicked his fingers in front of Tony's face, trying to get him to focus once more. Eli had really gotten all of his attention which was the last thing that Gibbs wanted.

"Sorry boss, where was I? Ah yes, as I was saying, it could totally be the wife. I mean her alibi is pretty weak and she seems to have motive."

"Erm Tony, just because petty officer Henson was gambling, doesn't mean she necessarily has a motive. For all you know, she could have been into gambling as well." McGee piped up from his computer.

"Please McSimple, there's not a single wife on this planet who likes her husband gambling. And she's not. Her outcome is hardly anything apart from bills and groceries. Looks like she was saving up for something. Hey, there's an idea. What was Henson's life insurance payout? Maybe she could've killed him to get the money for whatever she was savin' up for." Tony rolled his eyes and then started to get excited. His theory that it was the wife might actually be right.

McGee evidently thought so too because he started to tap away on his keyboard. Eventually, the bank records of Mrs Elizabeth Henson came up on the plasma. There was nothing special about the payout. Pretty average and to be honest, quite disappointing.

Tony slunk back to his desk, the wife theory evaporating like water in the sun. Just then he got a phone call from Mrs Henson's friend, the one he'd left a message for when he's gotten her answering machine a few hours ago. After asking a few questions for a bit, it was revealed that Mrs Henson was having drinks with her friend Marie at the time of her husband's death. Now, the team were back to square one.

The case wasn't really on their minds' though, Ziva was. She seemed to be getting better but the unexpected visit from her father could have caused a relapse. The team were at a loss. Ziva had never wanted to die before, she had never been so weak. They could have dealt with Abby being like this but Ziva, Ziva was their warrior, the person that could be constantly relied upon to be strong and sure. So when she was weak, it was hard for people to think of what to do.

Tony jumped up from his desk. "Um boss, I'm just going to see Abby," he announced unexpectedly, making McGee jump a little.

"Why DiNozzo? You got new evidence for the case?" Gibbs looked up from the indecipherable handwriting of Cynthia.

"No boss." Tony looked down at his shoes, feeling like a little kid who just got caught doing something he shouldn't have.

"Then why are you goin' to the lab?" Gibbs asked although he already knew.

"I just need to go." Tony said and the moment Gibbs waved his hand in permission he was out of the bullpen like a shot.

….

Abby was nowhere to be found when Tony walked in. It was getting late and the lab was basked in a magical sunset. He saw Ziva staring at something he couldn't see and was sure she couldn't either. Walking through the door into the ballistics lab, Tony found a deserted chair and sat down on it, facing Ziva full on.

She was still Ziva. Her hair - although matted - was still the same colour and length, her height and stature were still the same. It was her eyes that had changed the most. They were still brown but they had lost their sparkle and soul. Tony was sure that he could get the old Ziva back, he just had to figure out how.

"Hey Ziva. How you been?" he asked softly.

Ziva averted her eyes. His face was too much for her right now. She wanted him to leave her alone, to go back upstairs and keep on not caring, like he had.

Tony inched forward in the chair, careful to not move too quickly. Broken would be the best word to describe Ziva David right now. "You could at least answer me."

She looked up and as much as she wanted to look away again, she found she couldn't. Is it possible to get older in a few days? He looked sad, worried. Worried, about _her? _He had already saved her once, she didn't want him to think he had a duty to her because he had rescued her. That was the last thing she wanted him to think.

Ziva wanted to speak to him. More than anything. The connections between her brain and mouth were still weak. Ugh, if only she could get mad at him, then she would be able to speak. It always worked when she was mad. That's why she had been able to talk to her father. Because she hated him.

"Come on Ziva. I know you can speak, you just don't want to. You'll speak to your father, why not me? Is he something special or what?"

That did it. Her blood boiled in her veins and she could feel words form in her mouth. "Do not say things that you have no idea about." Ziva's voice was raspy and sounded like she had been gargling with sawdust, but it was there.

Tony suddenly felt proud. Then he remembered that he had to keep Ziva mad at him, to keep her talking. "Well you talked to him okay. What makes me so different?"

"You… you are different Tony." Ziva couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was Tony that stupid to not know the difference between him and her father.

"How am I different Ziva, how am I any different to that man you call your father?" Tony heard her suck in her breath, she was obviously not very happy.

"You just are."

"How?"

"BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU!" Ziva finally shouted. Her heart was pounding and she was out of breath but she didn't care. The admission had crossed her lips and she lowered her head guiltily, averting her eyes again.

Tony was stunned. She cared about him? They were partners sure, but having someone's six is different to caring about them, Completely. "You… you care about me?"

Ziva nodded. Her chin started to wobble and before she knew she was sobbing. Her head hurt and all she wanted was to go home. But that was just it, she didn't know where 'home' was.

Tony was out of his chair and beside Ziva like a shot. She fell against him, sobbing against his chest. He rubbed nonsensical patterns on her back but when she tensed up at that he stopped. He wanted to kill Saleem for himself; Ziva was a mess, a shell of who she had been and it was all because of him. All because of a Caf-Pow swilling sociopath named Saleem Ulman.

"I just want the voices to stop!" She exclaimed suddenly, hitting her head with the palm of her hand repeatedly. Tony grabbed her hand in his.

"Hey, don't do that." he said, just wanting her to stop before she hurt herself. It wasn't until a few agonizing seconds later that he realised Ziva was trembling. Ashamed of himself, he dropped her hand immediately.

"What did they do to you?" he murmured softly, looking into her eyes.

"You do not want to know." she replied.

"Yes, I do." He insisted, making Ziva look at him as if he was crazy.

"No Tony, you do not. You should not. I can… cannot speak of it." Her voice cracked and she started sobbing again, reliving all that had happened to her.

"I'm sorry Ziva."

"No, it is I who should be sorry. I should have trusted you. I was wrong." Ziva insisted.

"No, it's my fault. Although I accept your apology." He laughed and she laughed a little with him.

Abby came in and watched them through the glass. Seeing them hug like that, it was a reminder of why it had to be Tony who rescued her. Seeing them hug like that made her feel like Ziva could get completely better.

**Sorry for not updating in ages! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as it's the second last one. Don't worry, i have another story coming soon! ~R x **


	11. Chapter 11

(Three weeks later)

It was amazing how someone could rebuild their life in under a month. How someone could go from being a shivering mess on a ballistics lab floor to being the most feared NCIS probationary agent.

The new Ziva David walked confidently into the bullpen. She smiled at McGee, nodded at Tony, glanced at Gibbs and settled down at her computer to start typing up her witness report. When she had finished, Ziva logged onto her e-mail and found that she had one marked important. Curious, she opened it and found that she wanted to cry when she had finished reading.

_Dear Miss David. _

_We have processed everywhere in the Somali camp in which you were held. We received your request and we have carried out an extensive search of the camp, especially the room you directed us to. Unfortunately, our search for the necklace you described yielded nothing yet we did find __a __necklace. It was a gold Star of David pendant but it was in a dreadful state. It was secured to a wall and had obviously been smashed, burnt and it had S.U. carved into the side. We finally managed to find out it was you because it had 'for Ziva' carved into it as well which was fortunately still visible. We can mail it back to you if you would like. If not, could you please contact the available number at the top of this page, _

_Yours faithfully _

_David Henderson_

_Search team co-ordinator _

"Excuse me," Ziva muttered as she bolted from the bullpen.

Tony looked up from typing as did McGee and Gibbs. They all shared a confused glance over the bullpen. Tony stood up, sheafs of paper flying everywhere.

"Boss?" His eyes asked the question that he couldn't.

"Go." Gibbs waved his hand in permission and saw his senior field agent run off to try and catch up with Ziva. Gibbs looked back down at his report, so as to mask the emotions running across his face. There was something going on with those two, there always had been. There was nothing he could do, clearly, so now was the time to sit back and watch the DiNozzo and David show unfold.

…..

Ziva splashed cold water over her face. It was stupid for her to be reacting like this, honestly. It wasn't as if she had expected the search team to find her necklace. When she had found out that they were conducting a search of the camp to see if there was a threat to national security, Ziva had contacted them and had asked if they would - during their search- keep their eyes peeled for her necklace. It had been two weeks since that e-mail and during that time nobody had contacted her, so she's assumed the necklace was lost to her forever.

Ziva had accepted that, come to terms with it. That wasn't what was making her upset right now. It was the fact that Saleem had damaged her necklace in the same way he'd damaged her. It was the fact that he had carved his initials on it to show the power he had over her. It was the way he had damaged something very dear to Ziva's heart.

_Saleem ripped the necklace from her neck and held it up to the light. It shone clearly, illuminating the space around it. In that moment, she saw what beauty had been around her neck all these years, she saw what made Ziva the way she was. _

_Saleem threw the necklace to the floor and spat on it, grounding it into the dust with the toe of his boot. If Ziva did not have such pride, she would be crying by now. That necklace was given to her by her parents when she was born - when she was loved. She had worn it with pride around her neck for many years. Several suspects and fellow officers/agents had commented on it. That necklace was part of who she was. It was a reminder to be proud of who she was. The Mossad Officer Ziva David, an Israeli Jew. It was a reminder of her past, of happier times. It was quite extraordinary how that small star could possess so much. But now Saleem had taken it, just like he had taken her soul. _

Ziva snapped out of her reverie when she hear the bathroom door creak open. Almost nobody came in here during the day because they all used the ones on the opposite side of the squad room. Looking to the door, she gasped when she saw Tony standing there, hands in his pockets, looking awfully pleased with himself that he had managed to sneak up on the great Ziva David.

"You know, sneaky people should really expect sneakiness." He said, pushing himself off the wall and coming closer to her.

"I am really not in the mood for your joking around, Tony. And in case you had not noticed, it says '_Women's _bathroom' on the door." Ziva said, turning to get some paper towels from the dispenser.

"So you can come into the men's room whenever you like but I can't come in here. Now that's hardly fair." Tony started to get closer and Ziva automatically put distance between them. She did not like being cornered like this.

"That was different Tony because I had something to say, something to apologise about. In this case there is nothing to say and nothing to apologise about. There is just you poking your fingers where you shouldn't be." Ziva said angrily.

"It's nose Ziva, poking your _nose_ where you shouldn't be. And I'm not. I'm concerned. You bolted out of there and after what you've been through…" Tony trailed off, seeing the look that was creeping into her expression. It was one part fear and two parts defence; like she had something to hide. Now Tony really was concerned .

"It is nothing Tony, you do not need to be concerned for me. It was just an e-mail." Ziva shook her head, feeling really embarrassed and wanting nothing more than for Tony to get the hell out of the women's bathroom.

"Must be one hell of an e-mail if you got that upset." Tony remarked, slowly coming closer to her. "Tell me."

"You will think I am stupid." Ziva shook her head.

"No, I won't. Just tell me. I bet it's not so bad," Tony said and then mentally head slapped himself for saying that. Of course it was bad. It was probably way worse.

"Fine." She snapped and then she clammed up. For a few seconds it looked like she wasn't going to tell him, then she opened her mouth.

"It was just my necklace, Tony. My star." Ziva shook her head. "When I heard there was going to be a search of the camp I… I e-mailed them and asked if - during their search- would they mind keeping their eyes grated for my necklace. I told them what room to look in and everything. I have not heard back from them in two weeks so I accepted that it was lost."

"And then?" Tony prompted, not bothering to correct her little mistake.

Ziva took a deep breath, "And then this morning, I received an e-mail back from the search team co-ordinator. They found my necklace Tony, but it was not in the same… uh, same _condition_." A tear made it's way down her cheek.

"How Ziva?" Tony inched forward.

Ziva got angry. "It does not matter Tony. It cannot matter. And do not dare tell me that you know how I am feeling because you do not. Unless you were held hostage in Somalia for four months. Unless you were held in a cell all day, unless you had your identity stolen. So you cannot dare tell me you know because you _do not." _

Another tear made it's way down her cheek, followed rapidly by others. Tony reached and used his thumb to gently brush them away. When she started to sob, he pulled her into him. It broke his heart to see her like this. He thought she was getting better, he had through that she was finally managing to put the past behind her. How could he have been so deluded?

"It was not that I minded so much about losing it. I mean I did but I had accepted it and I had moved on. No, that is not it. It is the fact that he made it his own. He took what belonged to me and made it his own. He carved S.U. on it, Tony!" Ziva managed to choke out before another round of tears dissolved her.

Tony held onto her, trying not to let her feel his murderous rage against that terrorist. How dare her take something so personal and turn it into some kind of _charm? _It made him sick to his stomach. He would kill for a chance to kill that man ten times over in the slowest, most inhumane way possible. Then he remembered what was in his pocket.

"Hey, Ziva. I'm not sure if you're going to want it now but you might as well have it," He said, somewhat awkwardly. Ziva pulled away from him to study his features. His face remained neutral and she decided that he wasn't having her on, that he genuinely had something for her.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice thick with emotion.

"See for yourself," Tony said and dug deep into his inner pocket. He pulled out a box. A blue, velvet box. He gave it to Ziva.

She looked at the box suspiciously and opened it. Ziva gasped. Inside was a delicate silver Star of David necklace. To replace the one she'd lost. "Tony…" She whispered, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

"I noticed you came back without it and I know how much yours was important to you. I also know that this one's silver but I thought that it would be a change, a good one y'know? Like how your old one was given to you by your old family and now this one was given to you by your new family," Tony said, looking very awkward.

"This is beautiful Tony, but you should not have. Not after everything you have already done. I do not deserve it."

"No, Ziva. Don't start doing penance on me. You deserve to have something good and I knew you would like this. Besides, I haven't done that much, not really."

"Yes, you have," Ziva said, reaching up to kiss his cheek. "You have done more than you will ever know."

* * *

**Sorry to say guys but this is the end. I hope i satisfied you with a little Tiva moment at the end there. if i didn't well... there's not much i can do because my beta reader and i both liked it soo... Please leave a review and watch out for my next story. I have already written a little bit of it but i can't decide if i want to put that on hold and write something a little different. Please tell me what you think. Bye **

**R x **


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